''Marvel's Spider-Man
received "generally favorable reviews" according to review aggregator Metacritic. The game received praise for its gameplay, graphics, narrative, and characterization, but was criticized for its familiar open-world tropes and lack of innovation. Critics called Marvel's Spider-Man
one of the greatest superhero games ever made. VentureBeat called it "the best Spider-Man game ... and one of the best super hero games ever", while Game Informer wrote that "like Batman: Arkham Asylum before it, Spider-Man'' raises the bar for one of the world's most beloved heroes". Reviewers praised the gameplay mechanics; the web-swinging traversal, in particular, received unanimous acclaim.
EGMNOW said it was a more streamlined version of the physics-based system used in
Spider-Man 2 (2004), while
GameRevolution praised the way it conveyed speed and movement.
Game Informer said web-swinging was so much fun that they never used the game's fast-travel system.
PC Gamer found that the mouse and keyboard controls on Windows were comparable—and, in some cases, superior—to the PlayStation controller. The combat was praised for its speed and fluidity while presenting a range of gadgetry and environmental options to execute attacks.
Game Informer highlighted its efficient use of the environment, while
Game Revolution applauded the combat as some of the best they had experienced in a game.
IGN found that after gaining access to more abilities, combat allowed for an array of improvization.
EGMNOW wrote that the combat offered many different options, but had little depth. They noted that their only gripe was that they felt using the in-game gadget-select menu disrupted the game's flow.
EGMNOW and
GameSpot compared the movement system with the
Batman: Arkham series; the latter wrote that the inspired combat "suitably characterizes Spidey's acrobatic nature".
USGamer, however, said the
Arkham comparisons were unfair and that the extent and capabilities of the gadgets on offer made it unique from the
Arkham series, as well as other Spider-Man games. They disliked only the auto-lock system for making it difficult in larger enemy groups to hit the intended target.
IGN wrote that
Spider-Mans stealth scenarios perfectly highlighted Spider-Man's talents—especially his love for designing gadgets—saying that there was a "methodical thrill" in stalking enemies.
EGMNOW said that while the stealth options were "a bit shallow", they were "never unpleasant and rarely mandatory".
IGN praised the "gorgeous" skyscrapers and wrote that "swinging around at dusk as the calm oranges of the setting sun hit the reflective glass ... evoked some of the most calming, zen-like gameplay sessions I've experienced in a while". They found that while the faces of the main characters were well animated, those of minor characters were often unimpressive.
GamesRadar+ called it a "lovely looking game" and said: "It's rare to see something this big and detailed consistently look so good, with the very final story moments, in particular, some of the most spectacular looking stuff I've seen in a while". The story received positive reviews.
USGamer said it was the best aspect of
Spider-Man and generally praised the handling of the cast.
GamesRadar+ described the characters as "being voiced and performed with a depth and charisma I wasn't expecting".
Game Revolution noted it presents many familiar tropes, but featured enough new ideas to keep things interesting.
IGN wrote that despite having a moderately slow start, the story "consistently delivers that sense of weight and impact". They praised the focus on Peter Parker and highlighted voice actor Yuri Lowenthal for having "an emotional honesty" in this version of Spider-Man that made it one of their favorite portrayals of the character. Similarly,
EGMNOW praised the game's characterization and understanding of Peter, which they found was better than almost any comic adaptation, and commended the supporting cast for having "crystal-clear" motivations and acting "as a foil or mirror for [Peter's] altruistic approach to heroism". Some critics appreciated Insomniac's decision not to portray an origin story in the game.
EGMNOW was disappointed that the side missions were not of the same quality as the main story quests;
VideoGamer.com wrote that many of the side missions felt unnecessary in the overarching plot.
IGN wrote that the boss fights were "big and exciting ... full of tense action". They criticized a few, however, for feeling simplistic and said that because of their focus during the beginning and end of the story, there were large portions in the middle where boss fights were noticeably absent.
GameSpot praised the ability to use different suit powers independently from their original outfits.
Game Informer said the stealth sections that include the ability to play as Mary Jane Watson and Miles Morales "bring variety in fun ways, including solid stealth mechanics and clever puzzles".
GameSpot said that while they felt the mechanics were not particularly demanding, they thought the segments featured "some memorably tense scenarios". In contrast,
VideoGamer.com described them as "a bit hit-and-miss ... and a bit grating at times". The game world received criticism that focused on
Spider-Mans inability to innovate as an open-world game, instead relying on familiar and repetitive tropes found in other free-roaming titles.
Game Revolution disliked the way many of the side activities became monotonous after a short time and criticized the lack of variety in the collectibles quests.
EGMNOW wrote that they were more tolerant than most for collectibles and side-content but thought there was still too much of it in ''Marvel's Spider-Man''. Reviewers were disappointed with the game's inclusion of towers that reveal portions of the map and identify waypoints, which had become standard features in a number of earlier open-world games.
Sales ''Marvel's Spider-Man'' sold 3.3 million units (including those bundled with the PS4 console) in its first three days of release, making it the fastest-selling
first-party video game release in Sony's history, narrowly beating
God of Wars 3.1 million.
USA Today estimated the game made at least during this period, surpassing the North American opening-weekend box office take of the 2017 film
Spider-Man: Homecoming, though units sold with the console would likely inflate this figure. The game had sold over 9 million units by November 2018. It had sold 13.2 million units by August 2019. The ''Marvel's Spider-Man'' series had sold over 33 million units by May 2022. In the United States, according to sales projections by
The NPD Group, ''Marvel's Spider-Man''s release-month sales were 37% higher than the combined release-month sales of all Spider-Man games released since the group began tracking figures in 1995. By November 2018, it became the fastest-selling superhero game in the U.S.; by July 2019, it had become the best-selling. In the United Kingdom, ''Marvel's Spider-Man
became the fastest-selling game of 2018 in terms of physical units, overtaking Far Cry 5—which was released on three other platforms and itself had sold double the number of units as God of War
. It was also the fastest-selling Marvel-branded game, beating Lego Marvel Super Heroes'' (2013) by a wide margin, and the fastest-selling individual format game since 2017's
Call of Duty: WWII. It sold less than the fastest-selling superhero game of this generation,
Batman: Arkham Knight (2015), which was released on more platforms. Figures exclude digital sales in the UK. ''Marvel's Spider-Man
remained the top-selling video game for three consecutive weeks until it was replaced by the multiplatform title FIFA 19. It was the second best-selling game of September, finishing behind FIFA 19
—which had only been on sale for two days—and exceeded the first-month sales of PS4 exclusives Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (44% increase), Horizon Zero Dawn (94%), and God of War'' (138%). It remained in the top-ten-selling games until January 3, 2019, lasting 13 weeks. In Japan, approximately 125,154 physical units were sold during its first week, becoming the top-selling game of any format, and by its third week it retained that position, selling a cumulative total of 244,051 units. The game also became one of the best-selling Western-developed PS4 titles there, being surpassed only by
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and
Minecraft, and the best-selling Western-developed, Sony-funded title since 1998's
Crash Bandicoot: Warped for the
PlayStation.
Accolades and recognition ''Marvel's Spider-Man
appeared on several lists of the top video games of 2018, including first place by Wired, second place by Time, third place by Push Square
, fifth place by EGM
, ninth place by Polygon, and tenth place by The Daily Telegraph. Shacknews and The Verge named it "Game of the Year" and Eurogamer
listed it as one of the top-30 games of the year. A poll of 128 Japanese game developers by Famitsu magazine named Spider-Man
as their game of the year. In 2019, GamesRadar+'' listed it as the seventy-fifth best game of the decade. == Legacy ==